
Sf7 

■gcu 




J HE 



VALUE OF 



bis cl 9 Arc TMirxtoer 



BY 

y 

REV. J. M. G8GHRAH. 



Copyrighted by J. M. COCHRAN, 1896. 



Baptist Trumpet Print, 
bonham, texas. 



\ 



0000flfl50UA 



Preface. 

Wherever Bois d' Are timber will grow the following 
pages will show the possibility of settling the question of good 
public highways. Let every country where this valuable tim- 
ber can be produced enter upon the work of growing it in 
place of inferior varieties, and a system of the finest public 
highways the world ever saw will be produced at the smallest 
possible cost, and a large number of other important results 
will be accomplished. In this timber the people of North 
Texas have had a treasure whose real value is a hundred, or a 
thousand fold greater than they have estimated, and the de- 
sign of the following pages is to call attention to this neglect- 
ed native product. For a number of years past the subject of 
public highways has attracted mucli attention, and a vast 
amount of literature uas been published, societies have been 
organized, and official bodies have employed their utmost en- 
ergies, and the outcome of it all has been very little, and very 
indefinite. Let them take up the following facts about, prob- 
ably, the most valuable timber on earth, act upon them, and 
their object of securing good public highways will be accom- 
plished beyond their fondest dream. AUTHOR. 



► 



B0D0GK. 



Bois d' Arc, Osage Orange. These are the two name*) 
public print gives to what [ regard as the most valuable tim- 
ber on the face of the earth. The Red River valley of North 
Texas is its native home, and the people call it Bodock. 
Bois d' Arc is the name given to ii by a foreign language, and 
public print is the only thing that perpetuates the foreign 
word. The people where the timber grows in all its spontane- 
ous and native vigor have a right to name it, and no other 
people have a right to dictate to them any other name or pro- 
nunciaiion than what they have given it, which is Bodock. 
Osage Orange has no right to uupplant the name Bodock, for 
it is used only in the old states, where they know almost noth- 
ing abonr it, while Bois d' Arc has no right to dictate the English 
phonetic spelling and pronunciation, which is Bodock. in 
this article I do not propose to comply with foreign customs, 
but to follow the order of right, and call the timber what it is 
called where it grows, and where no other name is known 
than Bodock, with its English phonetic pronunciation. 

Few people appreciate tiie value of a durable timber. 
One that will last, is what men want. Timber is used in all 
countries. It makes no differance how savage a tribe may be 
they use limber, and in civilized countries it is used for so 
many purposes that it ts at once one of the leading necessities 
of the human race. 



BUDOCK. 

This country is rapidly settling, and our timber forests 
are melting away, almost like snow before a summer's sun. 
Timber of all kinds is now cheap, but the day is coming when 
it must advance, and it jS probably in the near future. The 
time is coming when houses will not be built out ol pine lum- 
ber, and it is also near when houses now made of pine lumber 
will beuufit for use, for such bouses do not last long. 

Where I have lived for sixteen years Bodock grows spon- 
taneously all over the country, and 1 have been a close student 
ofits habits, and of all the features ihat make up its general 
character. Tbe result of all this observation and experience 
is that 1 am convinced thai even t lie people where it grows do 
not appreciate one tenth part of its real, substantial value, and 
it has been fearfully wasted. I know one flour mill that has burnt 
it to a large extent fOr cord wood for perhaps twenty years, 
and J never passed the mill and saw it piled up for cord wood 
when 1 did not fee! a sense of humiliation at seeing such a 
waste in a country where 1 lived. I have seen farmers cut it 
down and burn it just to get it out of (he way. It is useless to 
belt large trees, and expect them to rot and fall like other 
timber, for they wiii not do it. The possibilities are that when 
a large dead Bodock is left in a field, at the end of a century 
the old giant would still be bidding defiance to the ravages of 
time, and to the inroads of water and decay. There is only a 
limited quantity of it in the country, and its merits are being 
more and more recognized every year. The use of it on rail- 
roads is rapidly increasing, and it is being cut and shipped out 
of the country for various purposes; so the North Texas sup- 
ply, which is, as far as I kuow, the only supply in the world, 
will soon be exhausted. This being the case, the present ar- 
ticle js for the purpose of calling public attention to its value, 
and to encourage the planting arid cultivation of the Bodock 
wherever this pamphlet may go. 

J 1 is a southern growth, for it will not stand the heavy 
freezes of cold climates. The south may. therefore, be proud 
of her inheritance of probably the most valuable timber on the 
face oi the earth. Let her only improve her inheritance and 



BODOCK. 



privileges as it should be done, and it will be worth untold 
wealth to her; not only iti its use, but in shipping it. to cold 
countries. How far north it will grow 1 do not know. I once 
saw a hedge of it in the state of Delaware, twenty miles south 
of Philadelphia, but it appeared to have a feeble growth, and 
did not show the luxuriant vitality that it does in its native 
Texas soil and climate; however, its feeble growth might have 
been caused by close trimming which it does not often get in 
Texas hedges. 

Cedar lias been, in all ages, accepted as, probably, the 
most durable timber in existence, but there were large cedar 
trees growing on my father's farm in Alabama, and I am well 
acquainted with it. 1 was raided in a cedar country, and have 
lived sixreen years in a Bodock country, so 1 ought to be pre- 
pared to judge of the relative durability of each limber. My 
father generally made all his gate and bar posts out of cedar, 
and from seven to ten years was as long as they would last. 
Tney would rot off at the edge of the ground within that lime. 
In 1868, or about thai time, I saw a plank fence put up by Dr. 
L. D. Lusk, in the edge of Guniersville, Ala., the county seal 
of Marshall county. He bought cedar posis at 25c apiece, and 
put up a plauk or board fence about a quarter of a mile long. 
at the end of about seven years the posts were rotting off, and 
the fence falling down. 1 was a personal witness of this fact, 
and give it from personal knowledge, so there is no chance for 
a mistake. From what 1 have learned I think that where it 
grows in a dry climate like Middle or Western Texas, if may 
be more durable, and last much longer than it does in Ala 
bama, and the same may be true when it grows in cold climates, 
but it possesses only a small fraction of the ability to resist 
rot under ground that is shown by our noble Bodock. 

"Twenty years longer than rock." That is the length of 
time that it is said Bodock will last. Five dollars for a rotten 
piece of Bodock. This has been offered by, probably, hun- 
dreds of men in North Texaw, and ! never knew one of them to 
pay it, for 1 never knew the rotten Bodock to be furnished. It 
is said that a. few years ago a St. Louis agent came to Bonhatn 



BODOCK. 5 

to investigate the rot resisting power of Bodock. A post that 
was known to have been set about fifty years ago was taken 
up and examined, and not a sign of rot did it show. I heard 
this report, but know nothing of its truthfulness. In 1889, 
the county court house was torn down, and a fine building 
was elected in its place. J was told that in excavating a 
foundation isoine Bodock was found that was put there when 
the obi house was built, about fifty years ago, and that it 
showed no signs of decay. 

In North Texas, there are many wire fences that were put 
up twenty years ago with Bodoek posts, but the owners never 
tliink about examining to see how they are getting along. If 
a Bodock stake can be found if will always be driven to mark 
a land corner, and when it is put up no one thinks of such a 
thing as it rotting off*. When the foundation of a wooden 
house is laid Bodock blocks are used, and where it grows, it 
would, probably, be difficult to find a house with auy other 
than Bodock pillows. 

These are the purposes for which it is used on farms, and 
it would be employed in many other ways if it were not for 
two or three defects. One is that it grows very crooked, and 
the other in that it is generally scrubby and knotty. Another 
objection is thai it splits so easily that nails canuot be driven 
in it, and still another objection is that it is so hard that, when 
it gets dry it is almost impossible for a nail to penetrate it. 
1 think that the first two objections are caused from the biting 
and cropping oi cattle. All kinds of stock eagerly relish the 
leaves and twigs, and their continuaj cropping of it while it is 
small causes it to grow knotty and crooked, for it should be re- 
membered that this is a new country, and all (he large Bo- 
dock it contains grew up before the land was fenced, and while 
cattle had free access to it. As to its hard, and splitting qual- 
ities they could be overcome to some extent by steaming be- 
fore nails are driven. As to the crooked, knotty and scrubby 
growth, I am confident that these objections could be over- 
come entirely by thick planiiug, and keepiug stock off until 
the limbsare out of their reach. But even then, in winter, 



BODOCK. 



mules will hark every small tret' they can find. I have seen 
many Bodocks growing among timber that stood thick, and'it 
was us straight, and t>s free from knots as other timber. 

When it is seasoned Bodock is the heaviest timber I ever 
saw, but, although it is so hard and heavy, still it chops easi- 
ly. 1 f is nearly as easy to chop when it is seasoned as it is 
green. I attribute this to the fact that when it splits so easi- 
ly, when chopping the chips do not hang as in other timber. 
It is so hard that when an ax enters it there is danger of a 
broken tool in the near future. Jn choppiugit, I have broken 
a number of valuable axes. However axes are generally bro- 
ken by chopping in knotty places. Some men will not allow 
any one to use their axes in Bodock, and if is the same way 
with saws. It has a thin white sap, and a deep yellow heart. 
The sap is exceptionally thin. 

There are many other puposes for which it would answer 
if it would .row straight and free from knots, and, as already 
stated, thick planting would probably effect this object. Pole 
or rail fences could be built, out of it. Cribs, stables and 
barns could be built out of it that would last a life lime, or 
longer, while log dwellings could also be built. If it would 
grow'straight, and free from knots, it could be used for roof- 
ing material, and a roof of it would be as durable as slate. 

Before barbed wire was invented Bodock hedges were ex- 
tensively planted on the prairies, but now farmers do not like 
them. It grows too fast, and too large, and it is almost im- 
possible to control it. These are qualities Ihat do not suit a 
hedge plant; out 1 think, and always have thought that by 
punctual trimming in summer when the young shoots are ten- 
der, and doing it often, would control the vigerous growth. 

There is a tree growing near Gobei, that I never saw 
anywhere else, that would make a finer hedge plant than Bo- 
dock. The people call it pepper wood, and I never saw it 
anywhere than on my farm, and close to it. Jt has short, 
sharp thorns, and is very bresh and easily broken. Hedges 
could be pruued with a stick by breaking off the limbs, but 
Bodock is so tough that it is difficult to trim even with a 



I 



BO DOCK. t 

sharp instrument. The pepper wood tree never grows large. 
One loot in diameter is about as large as I ever saw. The 
thorns are short, and thicker than they are on Bodock, 
and a tree as large as a peach tree will hear a profusion of 
small berries, which answer for seed. Tliis is a digression 
from the Bodock subject, but 1 am convinced it would make 
one of the finest hedge plants ever introduced, and 1 wished 
to call attention to it in connection wuh Bodock hedges. 

Before barbed wire fences were introduced into this 
country, a great many picket fences were made. They were 
made out of pickets just large enough to keep hogs from bend- 
ing them, and out of Bodock timber. They were generally cut 
five and one half feet long and set in ditches sixteen inches 
deep, but they never have given satisfaction. Wherever there 
is a crooked one cattle or hogs can crowd through them. 
Pickets four and one half feet long with one barbed wire 
above is the best. The pickets are held together at the top by 
i wo small wires which are crossed between the pickets, back 
and forward. 

Bodock could be used, also, in tile drainage, and by skill- 
ful preparation, Bodock lumber might possibly be used for 
city water pipes. If it could be made to grow tall and straight 
it could also be used for lumber. 

Theue are about, the sum of farm uses that it would an- 
swer, with the exception of food for silk worms. It is said 
that for this purpose it nearly equals the mulberry. 

If it could be made to grow straight, it would surpass 
anything that railroads could get. They use a vast amount of 
timber, and for bridges, trestles and ties it would be nearly 
equal to iron. It splits so badly that railroads will not have 
it for ties, but surely some one could invent a method to over- 
come i his difficulty. Iron cross ties are used, and if the rails 
can be fastened to them some one could certainly effect the 
same thing with Bodock ties. 

I never saw anything used for telegraph poles but cedar, 
and 1 have often wondered where they got so much of it. 
Bodock would be equally a« superior for this purpose as it 



8 BODOCK. 

would be for fence posts, if it could be made to grow straight. 
I have little idea bow long a large Bodock telegraph pole 
would last, but I would not put it under t wo hundred years. 

Bodock has one characteristic that, I never saw in auy 
other timber. As far as it has been tested it has proved its 
ability to withstand rot and decay as well, or better, under 
ground than above ground. This is a quality that places it 
far in advance of any timber on earth, for I have never heard 
or read of any other wood on earth that possessed this quali- 
ty. Chestnut, is very durable above ground, but it rots quick- 
ly under ground, and it is the same way with many other tim- 
bers. Then wood lice will eat up chestnut, and other soft 
woods underground, but Bodock is so hard that they will not 
touch it. Here in Texas worms destroy timber soon after it 
is cut, at a fearful rate, and they will work under the bark of 
Bodock and a little on the sap, but 1 never knew one to pene- 
trate the yellow heart. 

it is said that it makes the- finest street pavement in the 
world, and some Texas cities are reaping the benefit of this 
quality. Last August I was in Paris, thirty-eight miles east 
of Bonhani, and carefully examined the pavement. 1 saw no 
reason why its superior claim to this distinction should lie 
disputed, for it showed qualities which stone does not posses. 
For paving it is sawed into blocks about six inches long, and 
these blocks are then set on end, and as close together as pos- 
sible. All limbs and sticks two inches in diameter are used, 
and ine large and small pieces are mixed indiscrimidately to- 
gether. I saw no large blocks, for i think that about eight or 
ten inches in diameter was the largest and about two inches 
the smallest. Round pieces are used, and no effort is made to 
square and fit, them close together. 

If it makes such fine pavement for city streets, why 
should not all public roads be also paved with if? I see no 
reason why it could not be done if the supply of timber was 
at hand. If it makes the finest pavement in the world, why 
should not all the public highways of the world be paved with 
it as soon as possible? Why should not every city corpora- 



BODOCK. 9 

tion in the world plant a forest large enough to pave its 
streets? Why should not the legal authority in charge of 
every public road in the world plant enough of Bodock, close 
to its road, to pave it? The timber for these purposes could 
be grown within tweuty or thirty years. If rock could be 
planted and made to grow where it is wanted, there would be 
millions of rock farms planted all over the world, in a short 
time, yet here is a timber said to be superior to rock for pav- 
ing, and many other purposes, and a few hedge rows is all that 
has been planted. 

Why does not private enterprise enter upon this work, 
and make the best investment that could probably be made? 
An acre well set in Bodock, when well matured, would be one 
of the most valuable pieces of property that could be found. 
Why not plant millions of acres close to the rivers where it 
could be transported cheaply to distant localities? Why not 
plant millions of acres near the sea coast where it could be 
shipped to our northern cities, and to all ports of the world, 
and supply those countries with it where it will not grow? 
Why should not every farmer raise enough of it to make all 
his fences, cribs, stables, barns and other necessary houses, 
and even build his dwelling houses out of it? 

It makes finer char coal than any known timber. Black- 
smiths have told me they would rather have it than stone coal. 
It grows easily and rapidly, and makes fine fire wood. Why 
not plant all the forests in the Southern states principally in 
Bodock, and when it grows up cut out all other timber and let 
the Bodock grow? Jf it makes fine fire wood, and grows easi- 
ly and rapidly, then why not make the substitute? The only 
objection to it for fire wood is that it pops and sparkles badly, 
and is on this account unsuited to open fireplaces. I have 
seen women who would not tolerate it on an open fireplace, 
for fear oi burning their children. After it bums into coal it 
will pop and friz fearfully, and throw out sparks in every di- 
rection. But for stove wood this would not be an objection, 
and the probabilities are that open fireplaces will soon be a 
thing of the past. It is also said to produce the most intense 



10 BODOCK. 

heat of any timber in this country. 

I have heard a few statements Jo the effect that it would 
not thrive on poor land. I do not believe a word of it. Near- 
ly all kinds of timber, and, as far as I know, any timber will 
grow and flourish on poor land. It does not require rich 
land to grow fine timber, for I have seen it growing in large 
quantities almost to perfection on thousands of soils that 
were too poor for farming. This observation applies to any 
and all kinds of timber, and there is no reason why Bodock 
should be an exception. It is true that the soils where Bo- 
dock grows in this country are surpassingly rich, so in the sec- 
tion where I live there are no poor lands on which to test it. 
To sa} r that there are no poor lands in a country is a hign 
claim, but it applies, preeminently, to the section where I 
have lived for many years. 

Auother valuable way in which it could be used in build- 
ing roads would be cause ways. Cause way a public road 
with it, and keep it covered a few inches in dirt, and it would 
never get seriously muddy. The only objection to using it in 
this way would be that, as we now have it, it would be too 
crooked, but above, it will be seen, that this objection can be 
remedied. 

For bridges on public roads it could not be surpassed. 
This is always a heavy source of expense, but a Bodock 
bridge once built would be there to stay, and save the heavy 
expenses of re-building every few years as it is now done. 

In this country it is used extensively for piling. In our 
long summer droughts the land cracks open, and leaves places 
in which fence rails can be buried. This is not as often as it was 
before the country was settled, for we have more summer rains, 
but it frequently cracks enough to seriously injure brick and 
rock walls. To avoid this large quantities of piling are some- 
times driven to make a foundation on which to build a fine 
house. I have heard it said that railroads use it aho for piling 
in many places. 

It is used for making wagon wheels, and its use for that 
purpose io continually increasing. With Bodock hubs, 



BODOCK. 11 



spokes and felleoB there is uo man that could tell how long 
the wood work of the wheel would last. The wood is so 
heavy that it is generally used for nothing about a wagon but 
the wheels. It is said lhat Bodoek wheels are so solid that 
they will not give, and on that account they will not stand in 
a rough, rockey country, but how true this is I do not know. 

It is said to make fine dyes. Last Summer, 30 miles east 
of here I saw a lot of hands in Brookston trimming the sap 
wood from Bodoek, and on inquiry I was told that it was for 
the purpose of making dyes for cloth factories, and it was 
shipped to England. 

The Bodoek grows a large, green apple in the shape of an 
orange, but much larger. I have never seen any kind of stock 
that would eat them except horses and mules. The apples 
are full of white milk, bur, while horses are very fond of I hem, 
yet they generally eat only a few at a time. I have thought 
that if they were ground, and mixed with other food that they 
might, in that way, constitute a large part of horse food, and 
even in their natural state they might be extensively used iu 
the same way. Horses that are not raised co eat them will re- 
ject tehm, and would have to be learned to eat them. I have 
also thought that by grinding and cooking them it might be 
possible that oiher stock could be learned to eat them, espec- 
ially if they were mixed with other food. They are permitted 
to rot where they fall all over this country, but by experiment- 
ing with them, I found that by keeping them dry and air tight 
they will keep a longtime, and I think this could be done by 
putting them up in dry hills, or banks, like sweet potatoes, and 
covering them up air tight. I am fully convinced that farmers 
ia this country annually lose large stores of horse food by 
failing to save their Bodoek apples. Some people say that 
they injure horses, but fifteen years of observation satisfies me 
that this is a mistake. Here is another source of revenue, and 
another one to which all other forest trees are an entire stran- 
ger. Every farmer who would grow the Bodoek might in 
this way raise a large part of his animal food with nothing to 
do, but gather apples as they fall. It might also be that cattle 



12 BODOCK. 

refuse to eat apples for the want, of the frout teeth thai horses 
have, and even if this is not a fact, by feeding them to calves 
when Ihey were young, and mixing the apples with other food 
they might be taught to eat and even relish them as much as 
horses. 

The seed of the Bodock apple is so much like the seed of 
a cucumber that it might be difficult for an inexperienced per- 
son to tell them apart. It is said that one thousand apples 
will make a bushel of seed. While the large Bodock is being 
exhausted at a rapid rate, still where pasture lands are located 
near enough to recieve the scattering of seed from growing 
trees the young Bodock seedling is rapidly on the increase, 
and when they attain a body only a few inches in diameter they 
begin to bear apples. By this means the stock of apples and 
seed are also rapidly on the increase. In traveling over the 
country every autumn hundreds and thousands of bushels can 
be seen on the ground rotting, and going to waste. North 
Texas, I am satisfied, grows enough Bodock seed every year 
to supply the demands of the world, even were it to appreciate 
the value of the timber, but only enough ol the seed are saved 
to supply the demand, which is only a limited planting of Bo- 
dock hedges. 

Nearly all the garden seedmen in the United States keep 
Bodock seed for sale, and any one who wants them can secure 
a supply from these sources. It is said that the seed will not 
germinate unless they are soaked in hot water. I have frequent- 
ly seen this statement in print,jbut I never saw any instructions 
in regard to how hot the water should be, nor how long the 
seed should remain in soak. Without these instructions some 
men might cook their seed while others would not heat them 
enough to produce the necessary state for germination. Hav- 
ing never had any experience on the subject, I cannot give 
any definite instructions. I believe, however, that if the seed 
were planted in the fall or winter they would germinate in the 
spring, and I draw this conclusion from the large number of 
volunteer, seedling trees that I have seen. But experiments 
should be only on a small scale and this would be but an ex- 



BODOCK. lo 

periment. "A burnt child dread* the lire," so let the reader 
take advice when it is from one who lias been burnt, and who 
has seen many others burnt by trying new things on a large 
experimental scale. 

So far as 1 have been able to judge Bodock grows the first 
few years very slowly, but after it gets up to a good size it then 
grows very fast. In planting, or transplanting, the trees should 
be set four feet each way. Then when they get up large 
enough to be crowded, they can be thiued, and the thining can 
be repeated as the trees continue to grow. The minings can 
be used, and when the trees get very large they will answer 
for wagon timber, lumber, and other purposes. I do not know 
how close large trees should stand, but they should be left 
thick enough to produce tall, slender, straight bodies. If I 
was going to plant an orchard of Bodock, if I was satisfied that 
the seed would germinate I would check the land off like corn 
land, and plant the seed in hills in the fall or winter, cultivate 
the plants until they had a good stare and then let them go. 
A.1I stock should be kept off of it until it gets out of their reach. 
Then sow it down in orchard grass. If it is timber land, cut 
out the small growth, aud grub it every August until the stumps 
are dead. Then plant your Bodock as above; or the grubbing 
can be done after the Bodock is planted. When the standing 
trees are cut they will fall on the little Bodocks and damage 
them, but if they are removed at once the damage will only be 
slight. In this way all timber land could be changed into Bo- 
dock forests within a few years, and still retain a continual 
supply of timber, for all of the old timber would not be cut un- 
til the Bodock was large enough to supply its place. 

There is a forest society in the United States, and (he gov- 
ernment has had forest officials to encourage the cultivation of 
forests, but as far as I know, they have passed the Bodock 
without any notice. If they only knew its value as people iu 
North Texas know it, and then appreciated it, their reports and 
essays would be increased tenfold in value. 

The subject of improving public roads has been discussed 
at great length for a number of years, and has called forth many 



14 DUDOCK. 

articles from th : public printing press. A society offered are- 
ward for tbe best, essay on public roads wbich called forth 
many wri<ers. I read tbe report of the winning prize, and it 
contained a large amount of valuable information. Had tbe 
writer been well acquainted with Bodock, and its superior pav- 
ing merits bis essay would have been increased many fold in 
value. He could have pictured Bodock growing by the side 
of the road, on every highway in the world, in sufficient quan- 
tities to make a road superior to any rock pavement. And that 
this hue timber could be produced at official expese, and at the 
lowest possible cost to the public, and without the expense of 
transportation. He could have went on with the picture of all 
the paving blocks being changed into stove wood as soon as 
it decayed, and then a new stock growing on the side of the 
road for a new pavement. Then he- could have went on with 
the picture of millions of bushels of apples produced on the 
government trees, and being annually sold to the farmers for 
stock feed. 

I have been calculating on the amount of timber it will 
take to pave a public ropd, and have arrived at the following 
calculation. A pole ten inches at the large end and two inches 
at the small end will make an average of six inches in diame- 
ter. A pole of this description twenty feet long, and sawed in- 
to six inch blocks would pave one square yard. If they could 
be grown in hills six feet each way, an acre would contain 1210 
poles. Thirty-six feet, or twelve, yards would probably be wide 
enough for a public road. Some might be wider and some nar- 
rower, but this would probably be fully an average. Twelve 
hundred poles then would pave one hundred yards of road, and 
these would easily grow on an acre, if they could stand six feet 
apart. Seventeen hundred and sixty yards make a mile, so 
17 6-10 acres would then pave a mile of road, as often as the 
above poles could be grown. A section then, or a square mile 
of 640 acres would pave nearly 40 miles of road, as oftfn as the 
timber could be grown. Then, au soon as the trees grew out of 
reach of stock, the land could be used for pasture, and the 
Bodock apples for stock feed. 



BODOCK 15 

Every fruit nursery should have ;:, forest nursery attached 
to it where Bodock could be kept for sale, or there should be 
nurseries started exclusively for the purpose. 

With so many important considerations before us why 
should not every fanner who owns a piece of land plant one or 
more acres in Bodock? Then, as soon as its value is generally 
known, there will bean extensive demand for the timber, and 
if they could not get sale for it, they could use it in building 
all the out houses on the farm, and for all kinds of fencing. 
There is no danger of having a worthless product on hand, for 
if no other use could be found for it, then it could be burutfor 
fire wood, and it would be as valuable for that purpose as any 
timber ou earth. It should be planted especially on public 
roads, for as soon as it would grow large enough for paving 
purposes, every highway could and probably would be paved 
with it. 



RECAPITULATION. 

In setting a forest of it prudence must be observed. Prob- 
ably it would be best to sow the seed in nursery rows and then 
transplant, the small trees, in land well broken, and in hills six 
feet each way. A hill of corn might be planted between the 
trees and the land be cultivated only one way. The trees must 
be well cultivated for one or two years, for unless it is done 
weeds will choke them before they take sufficient root. Large 
areas in the Northwest have been planted in forest trees, but 
they never do any good unless they are cultivated until they ac- 
quire a strong vigerous growth. 

It would require a long time for the trees to grow large 
enough for service, but as soon as they were well set the value 
of any farm would be greatly enhanced. If a farmer has pas- 
ture land let him set his tillable land in Bodock, and turn it 
into pasture, and then cultivate his pasture land. He could 
sow orchard grass among the trees as soon as they were well 
set, and use the land for pasture as soon as the trees were 
large enough to resist the ravages of stock. 



16 uudock. 

If 1 wanted to make a safe investment, I would as leave risk 
it in a field set in Bodock as in anything else, for it would soon 
increase the value of the land ten, or possibly, a hundred fold. 
Jf a man had one thousand acres well net in Bodock, and near 
a large city, the timber would probably bring several hundred 
dollars per acre, and a new growth would soon succeed the 
cutting. 

It is said that the seed must be soaked or scalded in hot 
water before they will germinate, so care is necessary on this 
point. 

We repeat that Bodock is, probably, the finest paving ma- 
terial in the world. Its superiority over rock lies in 'he fact 
that it will not crumble as rock does, so rock pavements will 
wear out much faster than Bodock. 

Who would not call Bodock the fiuest timber in the world? 
And who would not spell its name every time with a capital 
initial letter? 



Note: — This note is to inform the reader that the foregoing 
pages were written within the iron walls of a prison cell. The 
writer was then suffering under the false charge of insanity. 
During the incarceration eight addition il books and pamphlet 
manuscripts were also written, all of which will, probably, be 
published. These writings will speak in language tbat cannot 
be misunderstood, and they will tell the tale of a religions per- 
secusion only surpassed by the Romish Inqusition. 

Each and all the charges of wrong under which the arrest 
was made were wholly untrue, and unfounded, and the writer 
would feel entirely free to persue the same line of action 
if he was again placed under simular circumstances. About 
three hundred dollars' worth of means were lost, aud an im- 
prisonment endured which lasted twenty mouths. Eleven 
tnonths, and twenty-three days, of this tim- k , were spent in a 
criminal cell. 

On the preliminary examination, and on the trial, in the pres- 
ence of a large audience, and now again, the writer has declar- 



BODOCK. 1 «' 

ed, and still declares, to the world, (hat tbe \vhi>le of the per- 
secution originated in religious tnallice, and was therefore, an 
unprovoked religious persecution. 

"The pen is mighterthan the sword," and through its office 
the matter will never be permitted to rest until every fraction 
of the insanity charge is removed from the character of a per- 
secuted minister of Christ. J. M. COCHRAN. 



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